Lunel-Viel (level 9)
Basic information
Sample name: Lunel-Viel (level 9)
Sample aka: Mas des Caves
Reference: P. Fosse. 1996. La grotte no 1 de Lunel-Viel (Hérault, France): Repaire d'hyènes du Pléistocène moyen. Etude taphonomique du matériel osseux. Paléo 8:47-81 [ER 3986]
Geography
Country: France
Coordinate: 43° 41' N, 4° 5' E
Coordinate basis: based on nearby landmark
Time interval: Middle Pleistocene
Max Ma: 0.424
Min Ma: 0.191
Age basis: zone
Geography comments: this collection is from a single cave gallery in a large complex, also called Lunel-Viel I or Mas des Caves, near the town of Lunel-Viel at an elevation of 50 m (Brugal et al. 2021) (coordinate based on Lunel-Viel)
assigned to the late Middle Pleistocene based on biochronology, and specifically between MIS 11 and MIS 7 (Uzunidis 2020), which is the basis of the age range
assigned to the late Middle Pleistocene based on biochronology, and specifically between MIS 11 and MIS 7 (Uzunidis 2020), which is the basis of the age range
Environment
Lithology: not described
Taphonomic context: carnivore accumulation,cave
Habitat comments: layers 6 through 14 include mixed material thanks to alteration "by gravity and run off phenomena" (Uzunidis 2020)
Acheulean lithic artifacts and hearths are present (Brugal et al. 2021) but they are essentially restricted to layers 1 to 5 (Fosse 1995), and the main accumulation agent was hyaenas based on the "presence of coprolites, gnawed bones... and young hyaena remains" (Fosse 1996)
Acheulean lithic artifacts and hearths are present (Brugal et al. 2021) but they are essentially restricted to layers 1 to 5 (Fosse 1995), and the main accumulation agent was hyaenas based on the "presence of coprolites, gnawed bones... and young hyaena remains" (Fosse 1996)
Methods
Life forms: carnivores,ungulates
Sample size: 2786 specimens
Years: 1962 - 1983
Sampling comments: the initial excavation was from 1824 to 1827, but the reported material was collected by M.-F. Bonifay from 1962 through 1983 (Uzunidis 2020)
Metadata
Sample number: 4401
Contributor: John Alroy
Enterer: John Alroy
Created: 2023-12-09 22:05:24
Modified: 2023-12-09 11:05:24
Abundance distribution
17 species
3 singletons
total count 2786
geometric series index: 25.3
Fisher's α: 2.410
geometric series k: 0.6294
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.5949
Shannon's H: 1.2663
Good's u: 0.9989
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
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| Capreolus capreolus suessenbornensis | 2 | 22 kg browser |
| "Capreolus suessenbornensis" | ||
| Cervidae indet. | 1650 | |
| Cervus elaphus and Eucladoceros mediterraneus | ||
| Equus hydruntinus | 19 | |
| Sus sp. | 26 | |
| Equus mosbachensis palustris | 241 | |
| Bison cf. schoetensacki | 2 | |
| Bos primigenius trochoceros | 565 | |
| Stephanorhinus etruscus | 22 | |
| "Dicerorhinus etruscus" | ||
| Crocuta intermedia | 199 | |
| "Crocuta spelaea intermedia": valid and not clearly ancestral to anything, see Lewis and Werdelin (2022) | ||
| Hyaena prisca | 2 | |
| valid and of uncertain affinities: see Ianucci et al. (2021) | ||
| Canis lupus luneliensis | 43 | 43 kg carnivore |
| Cuon alpinus priscus | 5 | 14 kg carnivore |
| "Cuon priscus": see Marciszak et al. (2021, J. Quat. Sci.) | ||
| Felis lunensis | 2 | |
| "Felis (Panthera) luneliensis": apparently a lapsus | ||
| Panthera spelaea | 1 | |
| "Felis spelaea" | ||
| Meles thorali spelaeus | 1 | |
| valid and ancestral to Meles meles, see Madurell-Malapeira (2011) | ||
| Lynx pardinus spelaeus | 5 | 11 kg |
| "Felis (Lynx) cf. pardina" and "Felis (Lynx) spelaea": see Fosse et al. (2020, Paleo) | ||
| Felis silvestris silvestris | 1 | 4.5 kg carnivore |
| "Felis monspessulana": see Fourvel and Latuer (2018, Paleo) | ||